The Government today said financial reporting in the new technology format XBRL will enable regulators to keep a better vigilance over activities of companies.
Speaking at an ICSI seminar on eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), the Corporate Affairs Secretary, Mr D.K. Mittal, said: “We the regulators need to know what is happening and an environment has to be created where every information is available and XBRL is a solution to this.’’
XBRL is a computer software which is seen as a tool that would bring in greater transparency and corporate governance.
Last month, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs had said that all big companies would be required to file their annual results of 2010-11 in XBRL.
Companies that consider March 31 as the closing day for a given fiscal can file their balance sheet in the new format by September, without paying an additional fee.
However, banking, insurance, power companies, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and overseas subsidiaries of these companies would be exempted from this arrangement.
“New standards of financial reporting like XBRL for formatting financial data and structuring financial reports, are sweeping the globe...It offers cost savings, efficiency and reliability to all those involved in supply or use of financial data,” the ICSI Secretary, Mr N.K. Jain, said.
He further added that the institute would organise training programmes for its members to equip them for the new reporting system. Besides, the ICSI would organise investor education programmes in 92 districts across the country over the financial year 2011-12.